Aaron Christopher Cervantes (born March 20, 2002) is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for MLS Next Pro side Austin FC II. Cervantes previously played for Orange County SC of the USL Championship.

Aaron Cervantes
Personal information
Full name Aaron Christopher Cervantes[1]
Date of birth (2002-03-20) March 20, 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth Chino Hills, California, United States
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
Austin FC II
Number 20
Youth career
2015–2017 LA Galaxy
2017–2018 Pateadores SC
2020–2021 Rangers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2020 Orange County SC 17 (0)
2021–2023 Rangers 0 (0)
2022Partick Thistle (loan) 0 (0)
2023 LA Galaxy II 1 (0)
2024– Austin FC II 7 (0)
International career
2018–2019 United States U17 4 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:28, 8 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 02:14, 13 October 2019 (UTC)

Professional career

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Orange County SC

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Cervantes signed his first professional deal with Orange County SC on March 15, 2018, at the age of 15.[2] He was the youngest ever player to sign a professional deal with the club.[2] Cervantes did not make any appearances in his first season with the club.[3] In his second season with the club, Cervantes broke into Orange County's first team, making 11 league appearances and 1 further appearance in the U.S. Open Cup.[3] His professional debut came against New Mexico United on March 23, 2019.[4] In between his second and third seasons with the club, Orange County and Rangers F.C. signed a partnership agreement that would result in the movement of players, due to this partnership Cervantes trained with the Glasgow side in December 2019.[5] In his third season with the club, Cervantes made 6 appearances in a season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] In October 2020 it was announced that Cervantes would leave Orange County for Scottish club Rangers for a deal that could rise to the high six figures.[6]

Rangers

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On October 7, 2020, it was announced that Cervantes would move to Rangers of the Scottish Premiership.[4] It was noted that due to the surrounding issues of COVID-19 that Cervantes would train with Orange County through December and then Rangers would loan him to another European team for the latter half of the 2020–21 season.[4]

On January 22, 2022, Cervantes joined Scottish Championship side Partick Thistle on a seven-day emergency loan deal.[7]

LA Galaxy II

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In March 2023, Cervantes returned to the United States to join MLS Next Pro club LA Galaxy II.[8] Due to injuries, Cervantes appeared on the bench for LA Galaxy's Major League Soccer fixture against Seattle Sounders FC on April 1, 2023.[9]

Austin FC II

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In January 2024, Cervantes signed a one-year contract with Austin FC II.[10]

International career

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Born in the United States, Cervantes is of Mexican descent. He is a youth international for the United States, having played for the United States U17s. [11]

Career statistics

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As of October 6, 2024[12]

Club Season League National Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Orange County SC 2018 USL Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019 11 0 1 0 0 0 12 0
2020 6 0 0 0 6 0
Total 17 0 1 0 0 0 18 0
Rangers 2021–22 Scottish Premiership 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022–23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Rangers II (loan) 2021–22 Lowland Football League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Partick Thistle (loan) 2021–22 Scottish Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
LA Galaxy II 2023 MLS Next Pro 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
LA Galaxy (loan) 2023 Major League Soccer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Austin FC II 2024 MLS Next Pro 7 0 0 0 0 0 7 0
Career total 25 0 1 0 0 0 26 0

References

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  1. ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: USA" (PDF). FIFA. October 31, 2019. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "15-Year-Old Goalkeeper Aaron Cervantes Signs Professional Contract with Orange County SC". Orange County Soccer Club. March 15, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "USA – A. Cervantes – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". int.soccerway.com. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "U.S. youth GK Cervantes joins Scottish side Rangers". ESPN.com. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  5. ^ Cusick, Aiden (March 3, 2020). "Club say Rangers took on 3 of their young stars, Ibrox coaches gave positive feedback on one". HITC. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "U.S. youth GK Cervantes joins Scottish side Rangers". ESPN.com. October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 8, 2020.
  7. ^ "Aaron Cervantes joins on 7-day emergency loan". Partick Thistle FC. January 22, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  8. ^ "LA Galaxy II Announce 2023 Player Signings". www.lagalaxy.com. March 23, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  9. ^ "LAvsSEA 04-01-2023 Lineups | MLSsoccer.com". mlssoccer.
  10. ^ "Austin FC II Signs Winger Anthony García And Goalkeeper Aaron Cervantes". Austin FC II. January 31, 2024. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
  11. ^ "Mexico looking to woo U.S. youth international Sagir Arce". www.goal.com. October 14, 2019.
  12. ^ "Aaron Cervantes Stats". FBref.com. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
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